Astrology News

The 2013 New Year began with the Moon at 24 degrees Leo exactly squaring its nodes…to the minute! The Moon was also forming a grand trine with Venus in Sagittarius and Eris in Aries. Three feminine orbs aligned in fire! Mars and Jupiter, both in air signs, were also trine. Uranus sat at their midpoint, sextile to both. The Sun and Pluto were conjunct in Capricorn. Mercury in Capricorn and Neptune in Pisces were also sextile each other, and Mercury was square to Uranus.

Putting all of this together, the New Year chart feels very positive and forward-looking, suggesting a lot being accomplished, both directly and behind the scenes. The Sun/Pluto conjunction indicates big fundamental changes under way in both individuals and in the collective, while the archetypal feminine of the moon facilitates the changes, utilizing the talents of feistiness and charm to rebuild relationships despite tensions, fear and resentments. The mind (Mercury in Capricorn) is in a position to honor the past but is nevertheless tied to the need for change (Pluto) and a stronger push toward the future (square to Uranus). Mars and Uranus are in mutual reception, and their sextile is future-oriented and assertive.

With the exception of the moon, the configurations in the chart of the exact new year moment stay in place for the first week of the month, and even up to the New Moon. We are moving ahead! The future calls and we respond. The world around us may not always look like we are moving forward. This is because there are many forces of resistance in our world that are incredibly strong. They are both within us, ego-attached, and outside of us, in movements designed to hold on to the status quo, or even worse, drag us back in time.

Some of the forces of resistance are reflected by the Saturn in Scorpio/Chiron in Pisces trine, with Pluto at the midpoint in Capricorn. Mercury, also in early Capricorn, closes in on Pluto in the first days of the new year. Our minds tell us we have good logical reasons to hang on to old ideas and behaviors, even if they are based on fears or old beliefs which haven’t been questioned in far too long, if ever. They may be connected to childhood, conditioning, or religious beliefs. The concept of change may be connected to past experiences that were scary or wounding. “If I change this, then this might happen, or if I let go of this, then I’ll lose that.” Yet most of those arguments no longer have any basis in fact or reality.

Luckily, we have our rebellious friend Uranus in Aries, prompting us from our higher minds, to break out of old patterns, to look clearly and with a new lens on old ideas. It tells us to try something new, to forge ahead. Another planet we have in our court to dispel the forces of resistance is Jupiter, the planet of expanding our consciousness and understanding of the universe. It is still in Mercury’s sign of Gemini, thus continually sifting through new data to find even more to know and understand. Jupiter remains in a retrograde period until January 30, so it has us looking within, to make sense of our internal communications and mental gymnastics.

With Uranus aspected positively to Jupiter, and both planets linked to Pluto/Mercury, to Saturn, and to Mars, we are in a position to accomplish much but we second-guess ourselves often. Stay dutiful, but patient. Keep focused on your goals. I repeat: we really are moving ahead, though we may not always appear that way.

On January 4, our spirits may have received a boost of energy when the Moon, moving through Libra, formed an airy grand trine with Jupiter and Mars, plus a T-square with Uranus and the Pluto/Mercury conjunction. With Mars and Jupiter involved, Venus still in Sagittarius and ruling the Moon, we may have felt quite adventurous that day. Hope you enjoyed yourself!

Meanwhile, Mars and Saturn are building to a tense square, something they do approximately once a year. And to make it a bit more tense, or interesting, depending on your approach, they are in mutual reception, meaning they are each in a sign ruled by the other. There is a blockage, something in the way of free movement. Given Saturn is in Scorpio, it’s likely something emotional. To take effective action at this time, spontaneity won’t cut it. There must be focused intention, a willingness to compromise, a release of something “stuck,” and a willingness to move in a new direction. By January 6, the Moon will conjunct Saturn, the square between Mars and Saturn becomes exact by the end of the day, and we’ll be much more deeply emotional, and serious, about ourselves and the action we take for several more days.

On January 9, Venus enters Capricorn, and we then have 4 planets in the Saturn-ruled sign. Seriousness, anyone? This stellium in Capricorn lasts for about 10 days, between the 9th and the 19th. Time to role up your sleeves, if you haven’t already. Capricorn asks us to focus on the practicalities of living, take responsibility for our share, and make the right, but not always the easy, choice. A stellium can bring great power and energy toward the affairs ruled by the house where it is located, so look at the house where Capricorn is located in your own chart to see what issues you’ll be intent upon.

This is a time of looking at ourselves with the mirror of reality. No telling fanciful stories, or wishful thinking about what’s real. If we are to build a new world that works, we need to build on a solid base of truth. And all this energy in Capricorn is ready to build, ready for the hard work. But as anyone who has given birth knows, birthing/building is a difficult and messy process. Lucky for us, Venus is now sextile Neptune in Pisces, and together they bring the compassion and strength of the feminine, once again, to our aid. We need not feel alone or abandoned in our journey, for this is a journey of companions, teammates, souls connected by a spirit of evolution. The more truth you tell, the more like-minded souls you will connect with.

January’s New Moon arrives on Friday, January 11 at 11:44 AM PST, at 21 degrees 46 minutes Capricorn. Even more Capricorn? Yes indeed! The Sun/Moon combo sits at the far end of a lovely string of planets in Capricorn, along with Mercury, Pluto and Venus. This New Moon allows us to vision just what it is we are to pursue for the future. Take the time to reveal your motivations, be honest about where you want to go, and what you are willing to do to get there. Remember, Capricorn, the goat, rules structure, the skin and bones of the thing. It is literally and figuratively about your backbone, and whether you’ve got what it takes to climb to the top of the mountain of your choice.

In the week following the New Moon, there’s continued emphasis on Capricorn as Venus moves toward a conjunction with Pluto, becoming exact at 5:30 PM PST on January 16. The conjunction will be sextile Saturn and bring back into focus the emotional weight of issues we must restructure, in ourselves and in our relationships. The Sun and Mercury are now also conjunct in the final degrees of Capricorn, exact at 1:00 AM PST on January 18, so planning and communications regarding practical, perhaps fiscal, matters can be smooth and efficient.

On January 19, Mercury enters Aquarius, and the following day the Sun follows suit. With three planets in Aquarius, Mars has already been residing there, this suddenly changes the focus of energy. After a month or more of following the rules in Capricorn, your energy may feel somewhat less contrained. Time to think outside the box, take some of your original ideas and put them to the test.

On January 21 and 22, while the Moon joins Jupiter in Gemini, there will be plenty of air energy hopping around to keep us chatty and into discussion mode, tossing ideas back and forth. Just try to be sure you don’t get sucked into gossip or unnecessary speculation. Keep your mind on the game at hand. There’s plenty of substance to work with.

When the Moon moves through Cancer on January 24, and while it opposes Pluto, it will form a grand trine in water, with Saturn and Chiron. An interesting though brief formation, but for people on the job that day, it’s reflective of some emotional movement potential. Some old block or problematic issue, in a project or within a team effort, could be pushed through, literally and figuratively, bringing about a “new day.”

On Saturday, January 26, we have the Full Moon in Leo, 8:37 PM PST. Mercury is conjunct the Sun in Aquarius, and the Sun/Moon opposition forms a fixed T-square to Saturn in Scorpio. The Moon is trine Uranus in Aries, and the Sun is trine Jupiter in Gemini. Saturn is trine Chiron, and Mars is square the nodes. A very complex chart. We often think of “things going crazy on the Full Moon.” During this particular Full Moon, things could get out of control, but not spontaneously so. It’s more the feeling of too much control, and the need to just release some pressure. You may feel more like making plans ahead than waiting ‘til the last minute to see what happens.

Second only to the Full Moon, the final week’s biggest event is Jupiter stationing Direct on January 30, at 3:38 AM PST. With Jupiter in Gemini throughout much of 2012, we’ve been learning that there is more for us to understand of the world. We can expand our consciousness and encompass much more diversity of ideas than we ever believed possible. We can be more open-minded, and more curious about what others think and believe. During the retrograde periods, we quiet the mind down, question ourselves internally about what we can determine as truth. During the direct periods we can go and help build consciousness in the outer world.